Ex-RAF great gran takes first flight – at 90

A FORMER RAF secretary finally took to the skies at the age of 90 and flew across a loch in a glider.

A FORMER RAF secretary finally took to the skies at the age of 90 and flew across a loch in a glider.

Widow Betty Lyons signed up in 1941, when Bomber Command was launching nightly raids on German industries and cities.

But despite working with the crews, Betty never got the chance to go up in an aircraft herself.

The great-grandmother-of-three finally got the chance to earn her wings after the Scottish War Blinded Society offered her a seat on a glider flight over Loch Leven, near Kinross.

She said after the flight that she would go up again “in a heartbeat”.

She added: “Flying through the skies was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had.

“Last year, I was ill and couldn’t attend, so when the society put the list up this year for volunteers, I was one of the first to put my name down.”

I was just excited to be given the chance to have such a thrilling experience

"I was the only woman who did, but you can never be too scared, or old for that matter, to try new things.

"I didn’t feel at all nervous before take-off.

“I was just excited to be given the chance to have such a thrilling experience.

“I have trouble with my vision nowadays, but I still managed to see a lot of sights and the wonderful Scottish countryside was breathtaking.”

Betty, who has lived at the St Andrews Court care home in Uphall, West Lothian, for the past 10 years, has already signed up for her next adventure, visiting a shooting range where she will fire a gun at a target every time a whistle blows.

Care home manager Sheila Hardie said the pensioner is an “outstanding example of an older person seizing their dreams”.

She added: “She has no problem with throwing caution to the wind and trying new experiences which is what we love to see in our residents.”